Norths savour miracle revival
NORTHS have completed the ultimate turnaround, coming from bottom of the ladder last campaign to the minor premiership.
Now they are waiting for a grand final opponent to be determined.
Coming off a campaign in which they recorded just the one win, the Matt Mcguire-led side flipped the script this summer, finishing the regular rounds with a six-wicket victory over Wanderers.
Wanderers still had a chance to sneak into the semifinals after their two-day win over Wests, however they were made to pay for a lacklustre effort with the willow on Sunday.
Courtesy of a bowling attack which shared the spoils, Norths rarely looked troubled, and Mcguire said that balance had been pivotal in resurrecting the club’s fortunes.
“It’s pretty satisfying after the hard year last year, so to turn that around and only have one loss is a pretty big performance,” he said.
“We’ve got a balanced side, we’ve got a few big quicks upfront and if the conditions are there we can throw the ball to the slower bowlers and change tactics.
“No matter the scenario we have options to change the way we play.
“There’s definitely no preferred opponent (for the grand final), but we’ve come to expect we’ll be up against one of
the best sides regardless.”
Norths’ Gareth Sim laid the foundation for a comfortable run chase, finishing unbeaten on 71 in pursuit of Wests’ 126.
It capped a fine season for the opener, who will head into the decider with 324 runs at an average of 54 to sit atop the Townsville run-scorers’ tally.
Mcguire said there had been a noticeable change in Sim’s demeanour at training and in his approach to the crease, and the platform he often set for the rest of the batting line had been crucial.
“He’s just become a very mature batsman compared to previous seasons,” he said.
“He’s really knuckled down at training. He had a lean patch halfway through the year, which we all usually do around Christmas.
“But he realises how important two weeks’ time is going to be and is training really hard and doesn’t want to miss the opportunity of a grand final.”
Norths will face the winner of this weekend’s semi-final between Sub Parks and Brothers.
MICHAEL Morgan is relishing the chance to unleash the burden of solo captaincy, with Jason Taumalolo’s appointment alongside him enabling a personal focus this pre-season.
The Cowboys star has shouldered the leadership tag on his own since Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott retired, however, injury restricted him to just six games in 2020.
This enabled Taumalolo to assume the role at various stages, while the barnstorming lock also guided North Queensland to the Perth Nines title.
Morgan (pictured) said the co-captaincy was a deserved reward for what the Tongan superstar brought to the club, and it came with an added benefit for his own wellbeing.
With the responsibility shared, the 29year-old said he could home in on ensuring his body was right for Round 1, and in shape to withstand the rigours of a long season.
“It’s been a tough couple of years and not playing a lot last year made it a little bit harder as well,” he said.
“It gives me more of a chance just to focus on myself, which is what I’ve had to do through the pre-season – focus on getting myself right, my footy back to where I want it to be and knowing that Jason was there.”
Morgan said it had been a while since he had undertaken a complete pre-season, with no representative honours and cleared of the injuries which cruelled his last season.
While he admitted it took some time to grow accustomed to the Todd Payten coaching manual, ultimately the side had come a long way since training began and they were ready to come out of the blocks a new outfit.
“It was extremely tough at times but I enjoyed it, it was very different to what we’ve had in the past,” Morgan said.
“We had things a certain way for a long time, so it wasn’t going to change overnight.
“We’ll still probably have some teething problems now and then.”